Spinning from grasp
by Padfootsshoe
Summary: When Hermione is trusted with a special weapon, every thing should run smoothy. Of course, when Malfoy is involved this can't happen, and before you can say 'Mischief managed' Hermione is whisked off into the time of the marauders where pranks, drama, friendship and love can be found. HG/SB Reviews really appreciated! And of course, the world of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling
1. Chapter 1

I scrambled for my slightly worn, Gryffindor school trunk, scraping my unruly, although somewhat tamed golden brown hair aside as I looked about my mostly empty dorm room. The other 5th year Gryffindor girls must have already gathered their things and headed to the great hall for a much needed breakfast before the long, dull ride home for Christmas. A sigh escaped my lips, a crease between my eyes as I thought of the horrible new I had just received and the job I now faced.

_I woke with a jolt as Professor McGonagall shook me from a rather peculiar dream about chasing paw prints. I was fully awake almost instantaneously due to the severe look of worry on my favourite teacher's face. _

'_Professor McGonagall?' I questioned, dread seeping into my stomach._

'_Shhh, we mustn't wake any other girls in your dorm Miss Granger, please, follow me,' Professor McGonagall's voice left no room for argument._

_As silently as possible, I followed the transfiguration professor to the common room below the Gryffindor dorms, navigating the strewn clothes and magazines carelessly handled by my roommates, Lavender Brown and Pavarti Patil. When we had safely arrived downstairs, Professor McGonagall gestured towards one of the plush, red patchy sofas conveniently placed by the flickering fireplace. The slavery of house elves still annoyed me, but even I had to admit, they were pretty amazing at their jobs. _

'_I am most sorry to inform you, Miss Granger, that Mr. Potter had another one of his dreams last night.' Professor McGonagall stood over her with a morose expression._

'_Oh no!' I exclaimed, 'I've been telling Harry to block those out, if only he had listened to me. Is he at the hospital wing? Is that why you came to see me? Is he ok?' _

'_I'm afraid it's worse than that Miss Granger. You see, 's dream seemed to be a live feed, as it were, and if he hadn't rushed straight to Professor Dumbledore, Arthur Weasley would most likely be dead at this very moment.'_

_I let out an inaudible gasp, my hand flying to my mouth to hold in the desperation that would surely burst forth. What could have happened to Arthur Weasley that would leave him close to death? _

_Professor McGonagall continued, 'Harry Potter and the Weaselys have been sent home immediately to see their father, although that ghastly woman did have a few objections, thank goodness Albus Dumbledore is in charge.' _

_Both my and the teacher's face curdled slightly at the mention of the surprisingly toad like woman, who had deemed herself 'High inquisitor' of Hogwarts school of Witch Craft and Wizardry. Professor Umbridge was always trying to take control of Hogwarts, and undermine the current headmaster in the process. She had even sunk as low as to physically harm the students as an acceptable method of punishment. I truly hated this woman, she to me was a symbol of the Ministry's corruption, a Ministry that i had believed in, and that had given me hope when i was just an outplaced 10 year old, dreaming of friendship and adventure. _

'_What happened to , Professor?' I asked, now that my voice was working. _

'_It was all a bit of a muddle whilst trying to get everyone together and calmed down, but from what I gathered, it was a snake attack. You know who's snake to be precise.' Professor Gonagall's face was serious and sympathetic. _

_My heart sank, and my head slumped slightly as i stared into the flickering flames to the left of me, as if trying to see the future in the dancing, teasing lights. _

'_That is not all I wish to say Miss Granger.' My head snapped up at the woman's words. _

'_Not all, Professor?' Many different Scenarios rushed through my head, each filling me with more and more dread. What more could possibly be wrong at this point? The picture of Arthur Weasley close to death, bleeding out, brought tears to my eyes. Professor McGonagall's words, however, were not what i was expecting. _

_The teacher cast a series of spells, which I presumed to be precautionary, which heightened my curiosity, 'A war is coming Miss Granger, a war no-one wishes to have. This war will be the war to end all wars, many lives will be taken, along with innocence. I cannot condone it. I have been working tirelessly on a weapon with Professor Dumbledore, and it is finally done. This weapon is not to be used until things turn drastic, but it does need a place to stay until such a time. This place is of course The Order of the Pheonix headquarters.'_

'_What weapon Professor?' I leaded forward, tears forgotten, as if this act alone would bring me closer to the truth._

'_I believe you are familiar with a time turner, Miss Granger, as you have of course used one for a year to attend your classes,' at Hermione's nod, she continued, ' Now, the time turner is successful in going back in time through hours, and possibly even days. Definitely not enough to change a war. That is what I have been working on.' _

_At this, Professor McGonagall produced a small, rectangular box in a plain white colour, and held it out for me to see from my view on the couch. When the lid was lifted, i saw that the box held a necklace, resting on purple satin padding. I peered inside, and gasped slightly. The necklace was in fact a time turner, that was clear from the hourglass encompassed by spinning circles, but at that, the similarities stopped. This time turner was a blinding, shimmering silver, easily identifiable as real white gold. The hour glass itself contained tiny grains of sand, each grain of sand seemed to be a different shade of pink or purple, and the overall effect was simply stunning. I had to stop myself from reaching in to see if the necklace felt as fragile as it looked, hanging from a chain as thin as a strand of silk. _

'_This time turner is hope, Miss Granger. What I have told you is extremely confidential, you must tell no-one.' Professor McGonagall's eyes pierced into my chocolate ones, and I knew that she meant Harry and Ron. I gulped and nodded. _

'_I promise, Professor.'_

_Satisfied, Professor McGonagall continued, 'This time turner has been programmed especially to take the user 20 years into the past, when you know who was just starting to rise to power. The perfect time to strike him down and have this whole horrid affair done with, but you know Albus Dumbledore, doesn't want to use it until absolutely necessary because there is no way to return once you have used a time turner, as you know.' Professor McGonagall's exasperation was clear in the slight roll of her eyes. 'Professor Umbridge is extremely suspicious of Albus and myself, and we need to get this weapon out of the castle before she can find it. That is where you come in Miss Granger. In the morning, you will board the Hogwarts express with your fellow students, and a member of the order will be waiting for you at the other side. I must ask that you wear the time turner and be our courier to get it past that foul woman, Umbridge.' _

_I stared with wide eyes, slightly over-whelmed that I had been trusted with such an important task. The Professor looked at her favourite student with affection and briefly placed her hand to my cheek. _

'_I am so sorry to unload all of this onto you, Miss Granger. Take this box and go and try to sleep, it is only 3 am after all. I will see you when you return from you Christmas holiday.'_

_With those parting words, the transfiguration teacher swept out the common room with surprising grace for 3 am. I shook her head to clear it, with no luck, and stared at the white box laying on the sofa next to her, mocking me with its innocence. I had not realised the severity of the war, it seemed Cedric's tragic death last year was only the tip of the ice berg. Gingerly, I picked up the time turner, half expecting it to explode upon contact. It didn't. _

_ I yawned on her way up to bed, trudging up the boy's stairs, before realising my mistake and scurrying down and up the right staircase. Intending to get as much sleep as possible, I sank into my wooden four poster, with red and golden sheets and pillows on her bed. But of course, this was not to be, I tossed and turned for a long while, my mind racing to process the information overload. What did it mean? Was there no hope after all? Was ok? Eventually I was dunked into the dreamworld I so desperately wanted to be in._

And now, it was time to board the Hogwarts express, I looked around my dorm one last time before placing my trunk at the foot of my bed. With my wand securely in my bra, the dress I was currently wearing inconveniently had no pockets, I reached for the ominous white box. Gently picking up the time turner, I placed it around my neck, finding the clasp easy to secure. I turned to the full length mirror Lavender owned, I inspected myself. I had so much to think about, my hand subconsciously kept themselves busy by fiddling with my hair earlier that morning as I watched the other girls pack. My long hair was tempted into a braid that fell past my left shoulder to just below my bust. Wisps stuck out, making the braid not look too tidy. I was wearing a navy and cream horizontally striped dress that fell to a few inched above the knee, with a baggy cream, cable knit jumper over the front, falling so that the dress was barely visible. Beneath my dress I wore thin black tights. As usual, I wore no makeup, apart from a thin line of eye liner on my bottom lids. The time turner hung in the hollow of my neck, and I was thankful that no-one knew what a time turner looked like, as the necklace around my neck was extremely eye catching.

I turned away from the mirror and picked up my trunk, a charm had been placed to keep it very light, and I shrunk it to the size of a charm, hanging the handle from my charm bracelet. A nifty trick I had discovered in our third year. Stroking my half cat, half kneazle's head quickly, I headed for the stairs. I would miss Crookshanks but she was such a pain at the order, and could not come along. Eager to see my friends again and make sure they were ok, I rushed to the carriages that would take me to Hogsmeade station.

Whilst waiting with all the other students for the Hogwarts express, a lot of them casting me curious looks as Harry and Ronald's disappearances began to be noticed, I thought about my relationships with the two boys. I thought of Harry as the brother I had always wanted, and whilst he was younger than me, he played the protective older brother very well. I told him everything and we would often share amused but slightly disgusted looks at Ronald's eating. Ron. Now that relationship was easy. For a long time I was convinced we were meant to be, I was deluded into thinking that ever since he saved me from the troll in first year, he was my knight in shining armour. As tim wore on, I began to realise it was the other way round, Ron wouldn't have survived with my help, both in our adventures, and in his homework. Call me old fashioned, but when I find a man, I want him to be protective and smart, not dependant and a bit whiney. I loved Ron, but more like a cousin than anything else. A cousin that I could gladly hit over the head with a heavy book from time to time. Speaking of people I could hit with heavy objects, Draco Malfoy was strutting over to me with an arrogant grin on his face. I sighed, really not in the mood to deal with him right now.

When Draco Malfoy stopped beside me, I groaned, 'what do you want, Malfoy?' I said in an exasperated manner.

'Just to know where Potter and Weasel are on a fine morning like this. They should know better than to leave you all by yourself. A mud blood like yourself could be… harmed.'

My eyes narrowed at the obvious threat. 'Don't call me a mud blood Malfoy. I have a brain double the size of yours and I have a special section dedicated to spells I want to use on you. And I definitely don't need protecting.'

Malfoy stepped closer, his face practically nose to nose with mine. 'You listen here you_'

I was tired, stressed and I'd had enough. 'NO, you listen Malfoy. I have had a horrible night and I am not in the mood for your bull right now so why don't you run along to daddy before I turn you into another ferret.' I accented this with a poke to his chest, which I instantly regretted.

'How dare you touch me!' The rage was evident from the narrow eyes that I swore were trying to kill me with just a look, 'Stupefy!' Malfoy shouted.

With a scream, I flew across the platform, landing with a thump. Ow. I pushed myself up, rubbing the back of my head and looked across the station at Malfoy with as much loathing as possible. To my surprise, when I caught sight of Malfoy, he was staring at me with shock and slight satifaction. I looked around the station to see that every other bystander was also staring at me gobsmacked. With a feeling of dread I looked down at myself. I was fading. I was actually fading. What had Malfoy done to me! Then I noticed the time turner, a stunning white gold with sands of pink and purple, scattered all around me on the concrete. With a gasp and my own choice of swear words courtesy of Ron, the world started spinning from my grasp.

* * *

'So how many girls do you think you'll get this year Pads?' James asked his best mate Sirius as they boarded the Hogwarts express for their 5th year at their wizarding school. James ruffled his unruly hair which would just not lie flat, no matter how many spells he put on it.

'You know Prongs, I'm not sure. Maybe this year I'll find the perfect girl who'll make me stop my ways. Shame that girl doesn't exist huh?' Sirius replied with a wink at a passing blond Hufflepuff from the year below.

James rolled his eyes. 'What is your perfect girl anyway?' James queried as they took a seat in their compartment. When James and Sirius had met on the train in first year, they had instantly become best friends and this had become their compartment, and they had defended it against many people by using their famous talent for pranks. They had even carved 'MARAUDER'S! KEEP OUT!' on the front of the wooden door. Sirius splayed out across one side of the compartment, his back propped up on the window with his legs up.

Sirius Black was the tallest of the Marauders. He had pure black hair that fell shaggily into his eyes, piercing grey silver eyes that had broken many a heart. He had very aristocratic features and pale skin. Despite contrary belief, Sirius was not a player, he simply was looking for love. Sirius wanted love to prove to his family and the rest of the world and even himself that he was different than his family, and their pureblood ideals that meant that they married for wealth. No-one knew this fact about Sirius, and he was happy for people to think that he just wanted to go through as many girls as possible, as the truth was much more embarrassing.

'I'm into the whole independent woman thing, but my girl should need me, at least a little bit. I don't want to feel obsolete. She's gonna be hot, curvy and maybe long hair. I especially hate girls that don't eat. Oh and smart.' Sirius grinned cheekily, 'so none of the girls at Hogwarts basically. What about you?'

'Lily,' James exclaimed with a dreamy expression as he slumped into his seat after struggling to fit his trunk into the overhead compartment. 'Her hair. Her eyes. Her smile.'

James wasn't as attractive as Sirius, although his title as star chaser certainly put him high on the list of Hogwarts' eligible bachelors. His black hair was short and stuck up constantly, and he had circular glasses on his ski slope nose, covering his hazel eyes.

'Not that she ever smiles at you.' Sirius interjected.

'Shut up.'

Just then, the other half of the marauders entered the train compartment. First came Remus Lupin, otherwise known as Moony due to his little monthly problem. No, not a period, he was in fact a werewolf, a fact that he was happy to hide from everyone but his very best mates, who accepted him and even became animagi to help him. Remus had sandy blond hair kept relatively neat, but not so neat that he looked geeky, and a broad face with greeny blue eyes with a yellow rim, he was very attractive, more so than the fourth marauder Peter or James, although not as sort after as Sirius Black due to his obsession with reading fantasy novels. Remus' illness was, however, taking its toll. His hair had flecks of grey in it that were not noticeable yet, but Remus knew he was slowly starting to age before his years.

After Remus, shuffled in Peter Pettigrew. Peter was by far the ugliest of the Marauders. He was small and tubby, with watery eyes and mousey brown hair. Peter tried his best, by spraying as much deodorant as possible on himself. The can promised it would attract girls but in fact, most girls around him started to choke on the deodorant and had to leave the premise.

'Jees Pete, let us know next time you want to choke us yeah?' Sirius said as he wafted his had in front of his face.

'Sorry,' Peter squeaked as he perched nervously next to James.

After putting his and peter's trunks away, Remus sat on the other side of James, as Sirius had taken up all the other seats. Remus grinned at his best mates and sighed, happy to be away from home. Ever since his lycanthropy, his parents didn't know how to act, and it stressed him out to no end. At least now, on the day of the full moon, he would have his mates back with him to keep away the loneliness. Reaching for the book on his lap, Remus began to read as the other marauders, or actually, just Sirius and James, began to plan the year ahead in terms of quidditch and pranks. Peter had been acting funny since last year, Remus pondered. Not joining in with pranks, and instead of talking to them like he used to, he seemed to be happy just watching them. With a shake of his head, the young werewolf returned his full attention to the book at hand.

A few hours later, the boys finally arrived at Hogsmeade station. With a jolt, Sirius woke from a dream where he was lying on a beach full of pink and purple sand. Weird. As the boys started to leave the compartment, Peter muttered something about needing the toilet, and rushed off in the opposite direction of where the bathroom actually was.

'PETE,' Sirius shouted and tried to tell him, but he guessed Peter hadn't heard. 'Anyway guys, I have something to show you.' Sirius grinned with mischief as he looked at the two remaining marauders.

'What is it?' Remus asked wearily.

'Come with me, I flew it over yesterday so that I could have it during Hogwarts. There's no way I'm leaving my baby with the horror I call mother.'

'You got a girl pregnant Sirius? How could you! And don't call it an it. How in merlin's name are you going to keep a baby whilst-'

'Prongs, shut up. It's not an actual baby you dick.' Sirius exclaimed. He led the other two boys to an alcove by the food stand at Hogsmeade station. Ducking under a branch, the boys stopped and stared at a glistening black Harley Davis motorbike. Their mouths hung open. Even Remus was jealous of Padfoot in this moment.

'It's so beautiful,' James whispered reverently.

'Isn't it?' Remus grinned wolfishly. 'I beg of you pads, let me borrow this some time.'

'Sure, you can both borrow it. Only don't tell wormtail, I don't trust him with-'

Sirius' sentence was cut short as a bright light suddenly flashed in front of them. A girl of about 16 suddenly dropped from no-where, landing right on the black leather seat of the motor bike. Sirius stared in shock, unable to comprehend what was going on until the girl uttered a very rude swear word which caused him to snort. The girls head whipped around at this and her eyes filled with confusion. The girl had brown hair, in a side plait, and a curvy figure, dressed in baggy clothes, although the outfit did show off a lot of leg which Sirius couldn't help but admire.

'I,' the girl paused, 'Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.' With a nod, the girl hopped off the motor bike and nimbly ran past the gaping boys, in the general direction of the beloved Hogwarts castle.

'Hey wait!' Sirius called, and began to run after the mysterious girl that had literally dropped into his life.


	2. Chapter 2

If she stopped running, she would surely start thinking. Thinking was something that would lead to a breakdown of some sorts and Hermione was far too strong for that, or so she hoped. The hallways blurred around her in her peripheral vision as she took the fastest route possible to the headmaster's office, the portraits grumbling about the disrespect students these days possessed as she flew past. Dumbledore would know what to do, there was no other option. As she slid through a hidden passageway behind a brightly coloured tapestry on the third floor, she couldn't help but hear the words of Professor McGonagall echoing around her head.

'_But you know Albus Dumbledore, doesn't want to use it until absolutely necessary because there is no way to return once you have used a time turner.'_

In her heart, she knew Professor McGonagall was right, but her mind was rejecting the facts. After all, what use is a life without hope? Hermione finally reached the stone gargoyle, tragically out of breath. She'd have to put getting fit on her new year's resolutions, along with kill Malfoy and learn how to cook. Although Hermione supposed if the students were only just arriving at Hogwarts, it must be September instead of December, so she really had quite some time to create the prefect list of resolutions.

With her lungs back working to full capacity, Hermione straightened and frowned at the Gargoyle, which had been looking down on Hermione with a slightly haughty expression.

'Password?' The Gargoyle grumbled.

'Oh balls. Can't you just let me in as a favour? Pretty please?' Hermione asked with slight desperation as she realised that the password in her time was not going to get her up to Professor Dumbledore.

'If only that were the way it worked.' The gargoyle proclaimed with mock sympathy before turning back to solid stone.

'Stupid stone, ugly ass gargoyle.' Hermione muttered as she kicked the wall to the left of her. Think, Hermione. What would a marauder do? Of course, the marauders would know the password, so that was really no help. Suddenly, Hermione had an idea, so simple it might just work. Only one way to find out.

'PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE! PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE! YOUR STUPID GARGOYLE WON'T LET ME THROUGH. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT! PLEASE. YOU HAVE TO HEAR ME.'

With a rumble, the Gargoyle came to life and started spinning whilst glaring at Hermione in annoyance. After sticking her tongue out at the stone statue, Hermione hopped up the stairs with butterflies in her stomach to find out her fate. Knocking on the massive wooden double doors, Hermione stepped into Professor Dumbledore's office.

A person who had first entered the Headmaster's office would have been in awe of its grandeur. A massive wooden desk took up most of one wall, with portraits of all the previous Headmasters lined up on the wall above a marble fireplace with flickering flames. On the desk sat a magnificent bird, which Hermione presumed to be Fawkes, the phoenix, looking exactly the same as she remembered. The desk was very cluttered, much like Hermione imagined the Professor's brain to be like. Papers precariously stacked, quills lying on the wood, causing ink stains, and oddly, vials of see through liquid with strange labels, such as 'That time Aberforth fell over'. She wandered who that was.

The most impressive part of this room was, of course, the current headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. His features were almost identical to the headmaster of her time, apart from the fact that his long beard was ginger now instead of the white Hermione had become accustomed to. Professor Dumbledore was standing by a gigantic bookcase, and under other circumstances Hermione would not have been able to hold herself back from diving towards the knowledge and other worlds that the bookcase surely held.

'What a way to make an entrance! To what do I owe the pleasure, Miss…,' Dumbledore's words trailed off as he waited for Hermione's name.

'Hermione Granger, Sir. Thank you so much for letting me see you, it is truly important. Although I apologise for my less traditional methods of catching your attention.'

'Ah Miss Granger, you are forgiven. I do hope you have a good story, it has been frightfully long since I've heard one of those,' the Professor's eyes glistened with intrigue.

'I do actually Professor, if you like tragedies,' Hermione frowned, 'but if you don't mind, there are a few others I would like to hear my tale.' Hermione had thought things through whilst catching her breath and decided that she wanted the marauders with her, so that she could tell them of their fates and hopefully save their lives, of course, she didn't count Peter Pettigrew as a marauder. If she was in the past, she may as well do some good and hep the war effort like the time turner originally was created for.

'Certainly Miss Granger, and who would these people be?'

'Professor McGonagall, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, Sir,' Hermione waited anxiously to see if Professor Dumbledore would allow the famous trouble makers to be privy to such information.

Dumbledore deliberated, but as he was so curious of this mysterious girl's life, and could see in her eyes that she was trustworthy, he really saw no harm in the pranksters minus one coming along to listen. Although he was extremely intrigued as to how this Hermione Granger knew these boys. He guessed that he would find out soon, he did have some theories but sincerely hoped they weren't true. Tragic indeed.

The great hall was a cocoon of noise, everyone was so happy to be back at the beloved castle, and none more so than the marauders. Sirius Black and James Potter strutted into the hall and sat at their favourite places, Remus strolling a little behind them with his hand shoved into his pockets, not affected by the looks the three of them were getting, used to it after four years of the treatment. The attention hadn't made any of them cocky, or, cockier than they already were. After settling in their seats, the three best mates began to discuss the mysterious, alluring girl that had landed on Sirius' motor bike.

'I'll tell you guys what,' Sirius said with a cheeky grin, 'I don't know who that girl was, but she sure looked good on my motorbike.'

James snorted whilst Remus rolled his eyes, trust Padfoot to think of that before anything else. The hall had slowly become fuller, until now all the students were sitting in their places. The marauders didn't notice any of this however as they were too busy speculating over the new girl.

Soon, the first years had been sorted and the house tables filled with the most magnificent food anyone who had not witnessed a Hogwarts feast before would have gaped at. The marauders dug in and soon, the fourth marauder shuffled in quietly, no-one paying much attention as they filled their empty stomachs. With a sniff, Peter sank into the seat the other boys had saved him, picking up some cheese and ham and placing them on his plate.

'Where were you, wormtail?' Remus asked after swallowing his mashed potato.

'Yeah,' James added in, without the courtesy of having an empty mouth. Across the table, the love of James' life grimaced and turned back to her best friend Alice. James slicked back his messy hair and tried to sneak a peek to see if Lily was still watching him. This year would be the year Lily noticed him, James could just feel it. It had to happen. James had noticed Lily in third year when he had been picking on that greasy git, Severus, and Lily had stepped in and punched him right in the face. It was love at first punch. Ever since that moment, James had been following Lily around like a lost puppy, begging her in every way possible to go out with him, but to no avail. Lily thought he was an arrogant prick had had no trouble in telling him this. Nothing could deter The James Potter however, and he never gave up.

'I went to the toilet,' Peter muttered, nibbling on his cheese.

'For an hour?' Sirius asked dubiously, 'That's quite impressive Pete.'

With a bob of his head, Peter tried to become invisible, hating all the attention being on him. Once all of the students had eaten, Professor Dumbledore stood up from the teachers table and went through all of his usual beginning of year announcements, the marauders didn't listen as they could practically recite the notices, until suddenly, they heard their names. Their heads snapped up and they looked at each other with confusion.

'My last notice before you all go off for a much needed rest before the hard work I am sure you will all do,' Dumbledore paused to winked, 'could Mr Potter, Mr Lupin and Mr Sirius Black please accompany me to my office as soon as everyone leaves.'

'How have you already gotten us into trouble,' Remus hissed to James and Sirius as all of the other students were herded out of the great hall, including a confused and worried Peter.

Nothing I swear! At least I don't think we've done anything, have we Padfoot?' James looked to Sirius.

'I don't think so,' Sirius scratched his head, looking puzzled.

'Bye Sirius,' a small, brunette Ravenclaw simpered as she walked past, 'See you later?'

'Yeah maybe later Anna,' Sirius managed a grimace which the Ravenclaw took as a smile, and went off giggling. Sirius shivered.

James felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find that it belonged to Professor Dumbledore.

'Good evening Sir,' James said in a slightly worried tone.

'Don't worry boys, you are not in trouble,' Dumbledore chuckled.

'For once,' the boys noticed Professor McGonagall behind the headmaster.

'Sir, what is this about then?' Sirius asked.

'You will see soon enough, please follow me.' The strange group headed up to the headmaster's office. When they arrived, it was to the sight of a very anxious, but familiar girl pacing the floor. At the sound of them all traipsing in, the girl's head jolted in their direction.

'I believe you have already met,' Dumbledore said, 'but for the sake of politeness, this is Miss Hermione Granger, and she has requested you all be here for her tale of tragedy.' Professor Dumbledore winked at Hermione and she managed a small smile back in his direction.

'I think you should all sit down,' Hermione gestured to four chairs placed by the headmaster's desk, where the three boys and Professor McGonagall sat whilst the headmaster sat in his chair behind the table. Hermione really had no idea how to continue. How do you tell people about their deaths and the betrayal by their best friend?

'Ok,' Hermione began nervously as all the occupants of the room watched her pace up and down the room. The Marauders were being unnaturally quiet, but they were all so curious about this strange girl that they were willing to wait patiently for Hermione to begin, 'Where to start?' Hermione asked herself.

'I find it is usually best to start at the beginning, Miss Granger,' Dumbledore interrupted helpfully.

'Right, the beginning,' Hermione pulled invisible hairs off her dress before coming to a stop and looking at all of them. She found her eyes welling up as she stared at the marauders, they all looked to innocent and young, not scarred as they were in her time, Sirius didn't have the haunted look she knew he had in her time, in fact, he was very handsome. Remus looked so young, and despite the worry in his eyes that Hermione knew was for her and her tale, he looked happy. James looked so much like Harry, apart from the colour of James' eyes, they could be twins. Hermione knew now that telling them everything was the right thing to do. 'I guess I'll start with my first year then.'

Two hours later, everyone in the room was staring with shock at Hermione Granger, who had tears in her eyes as she looked at all the marauders.

'And my time turner broke and now here I am,' Hermione finished with a sigh of relief, it's a lot harder than it sounds, relaying four years of your life.

James had a blank look on his face, but Hermione could see in his eyes the turmoil that he was experiencing. Remus looked… sad. That was the only word Hermione could come up with. She hated that she had had to tell them the news, and it was her fault that Remus had that look on his face. Hermione shook herself mentally, it was most definitely not her fault, it was that little rat's fault.

Hermione's eyes shifted to Sirius, before quickly looking away again, the rage she had seen honestly scared her. She knew from her time that Sirius was fiercely protective towards his friends, and this must be the biggest act of betrayal for him as his friends were his only family to him.

'I'm going to kill him,' Sirius whispered in rage, and all eyes shifted to him. Hermione had no idea what to say and looked helplessly at Professor Dumbledore.

'Now Mr Black, we must remember that this is the future, and the future can always be changed. I suggest that you try to be kind to Peter.'

Sirius looked at him in outrage. 'Be kind to that traitor! He is the reason that James dies! The reason that I get sent to AZKABAN!'

Everyone flinched. Hermione was thankful that they all believed her story so readily, but noticed that for them to take a stranger's word over their trust for their best friend, things must have been quite wrong for a while. James and Remus agreed with Sirius on befriending Peter still, how could they even look at him again?

'With all due respect sir, if I am forced to try to carry on being friends with Peter, I can't be held responsible for my actions. For the sake of not arousing suspicion, I think we should just slowly cut him off, we barely spend time with his as it is. At least now I know why, the stinking rat. I hate him.' Remus' words of anger shocked everyone, but Remus' wolf thought of peter as part of the pack, and so it must be hitting him hard, as it was everyone. The boys nodded at Remus' idea of cutting Peter out, they didn't want to reveal Hermione's secret.

The headmaster nodded, and turned to Hermione. 'Hermione dear, I am so very sorry to tell you that what Minerva told you in your own time was true. There is no way for you to go home.'

Everyone's eyes turned to the not so mysterious girl, and the boys felt so sorry for her. It was one thing to lose one best friend, but to lose everyone she had ever known was something that they hoped they would never have to even think about. Hermione's eyes filled with tears and she sank to the floor, and before she could stop it, a sob escaped and she clapped her hands to her mouth as more and more sobs wrenched free. Sirius stood slowly and walked over to the beautiful girl, settling down beside her and wrapping his arms around her in a protective manner. Sirius felt a strong connection to this girl, she had told him of the horrors he faced in Azkaban, and saved him from it, a debt he could never repay, but he was sure going to try his best to do so. He also knew from Hermione how close they had been in her time and he felt proud to have been worthy of this girls time. Hermione seemed to fit perfectly in his arms and when she curled into him, he smelt cinnamon and warmth. After a minute or so, James and Remus knelt beside Hermione and Sirius and began whispering comforting words to her.

'We'll be your family now.'

'You had our backs, and now we'll have yours.'

'You're not alone, I promise.'

Hermione looked up slowly and smiled a watery smile. She felt so alone, but knowing that the marauders would be there for her made the ache easier to bare. In her old time, Hermione would have called Sirius her best friend after Harry, Ron and Ginny. They were both very bright and enjoyed debating things with each other. They mucked around and Hermione stayed with Sirius at Grimmauld place for the last summer, as it was not safe for her to return home, and she didn't want to add to the already full to bursting Burrow, putting massive pressure on Mrs Weasley. They would read, laugh and talk every day, and as Sirius couldn't leave Grimmauld place, he was very happy and grateful for the company. When the war or their memories ever felt too much for one of them, they would be comforted by the other and had a very close bond because of this. Hermione hoped to make a bond like this with the Sirius of this time, as it would mean that she wouldn't be losing everyone from her previous life.

'Now,' Dumbledore carried one, 'Miss Granger needs a cover story as to why she is here. I am open to any suggestions. My imagination isn't what it once was.'

'Well, I could always say I was home schooled,' Hermione suggested.

'We could say she is my cousin, and after her parent's death, she came to live with us.' James added, 'My parents always wanted a daughter.' James winked at Hermione from their position on the floor.

'Hey prongs, she could stay with us in the holidays!' Sirius exclaimed, 'I don't get on with my family, so Mr and Mrs Potter let me stay with them most of the time, we have a blast!'

'I couldn't possibly intrude, I_,' Hermione started but was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore.

'Excellent Idea boys,' He smiled, 'Doreas and Charlus work very closely for the order, and would be happy to help. So that's settled then. I will send them a letter immediately. I assume you would like to stay in Gryffindor, Miss Granger?'

Hermione swallowed her protests about being a burden, recognising how futile it would be to argue. Instead she nodded her head slowly. 'I would love to stay in my previous house, Sir.' The thought of changing house and leaving the marauders made her shudder.

'There we have it. Now, after all the stress of the day, I think it is long past time you all headed to bed. Lessons start in the morning and you should all be well rested. Pip pip'

As the party on the floor stood up, Sirius lending Hermione a hand and pulling her up, James and Sirius groaned at the thought of classes.

'The password for the Gryffindor common room is Headless, now off you go.' Professor McGonagall said, with a comforting smile to Hermione. This young girl had obviously meant a great deal to her, for her to trust Hermione with such an important task.

The three marauders and Hermione headed towards the Gryffindor common room, the boys making light conversation, even in the face of such horrible new that they had just received. As James pulled slightly on one of Hermione's curls, Hermione swatted him off and smiled at the boys, maybe she could make a life for herself here. She caught her eyes drifting to a laughing Sirius, his head was thrown back at something Remus had just said, and Hermione couldn't help but admire him, and thinking of the kindness he had shown her in Dumbledore's office, she began to blush slightly. Feeling her eyes on him, Sirius turned and winked at Hermione, and to his surprise, instead of giggling like most of the other girls at Hogwarts would have done, she pulled a face at him, letting her eyes go cross eyed.

Sirius grinned doggishly.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I've been mega busy recently, but I really like where this story is heading so I've made time to write it. Any suggestions would be really appreciated, and I hope you like it! The world of Harry Potter definitely belongs to JK ROWLING, as much as it pains me that I can't take credit!

Hermione sank into one of the sofas in the empty Gryffindor common room, breathing out a sigh, thinking of the meeting she had just been to. Hermione had muttered something about going to the bathroom whilst walking with the marauders, and ran ahead to the common room, just so she had some time alone to process things. With a gasp, Hermione realised that it was the same sofa that Professor McGonagall had told Hermione to sit on, the sofa on which her entire life had changed. Turning her head, just has she had then, she watched the dancing flames, almost being able to pretend she was back in HER common room, and any minute now Ron and Harry would stroll in, complaining about homework and those annoying Slytherins they couldn't seem to get rid of. Hermione's head flopped back onto the headrest, closing her eyes.

Thinking, however, was not something the marauders were fond of. Especially when it lead to the sad look they currently saw on Hermione's face, having just entered through the portrait of the fat lady, who was not happy at being disturbed so late at night, and had no trouble in telling the pesky boys this. They looked at each other and knew what to do. If there was one talent the marauders possessed, it was cheering people up.

Hermione looked up from her musings as three heavy bodies fell to the sofa on either side of her. To her left was James and Remus, who looked at her knowingly. She gave them a meek grin that fooled no-one and turned to her right to see Sirius. Hermione knew that not even her singing 'Happy days' could convince Sirius that she was ok, so she just looked at him. Her once closest confidant, and one of her best friends, maybe not the same, but close enough.

'Tell me the good stories,' Sirius said suddenly.

'What- What do you mean?' Hermione replied with trepidation.

'You told us all of the gloom and doom of your life, and now, I think it's time to hear the good stories. There must be some!' Sirius was trying to cheer her up, and she appreciated it greatly.

'Only if you boys share also,' Hermione managed a smile, which she really did mean. Despite everything, Hermione needed to remember that all was not lost, and that she had a purpose here. 'I'd love to hear first-hand, some of your tales of mischief.'

'With pleasure, milady,' James grinned.

An hour later, Hermione was feeling a lot more cheerful, and her stomach hurt from the amount of laughing she had done. They had come up with Hermione's cover story and told stories of their times at Hogwarts and the mischief both groups had gotten up too. The marauders were impressed with the adventures Hermione had been on, but Hermione thought the marauders had definitely had more fun. All her previous sad thoughts were gone from her head. Instead, she was trying her hardest to imagine Professor Slughorn leaving a trail of slime, and Professor Dumbledore dancing to The Beatles song, Twist and Shout.

'I can't believe you got away with turning the entire great hall into a disco!' Hermione exclaimed, 'I would have loved to be there for that.'

As Hermione said this, she let out a huge yawn, which made Sirius, who had been previously laughing with tears of mirth at his memory of a Hippie Dumbledore, say, 'I think it's time for bed one and all, I myself am absolutely zonked.' Everyone nodded in agreement and started to trudge up the stairs.

'Night Hermione.'

'See you in the morning.'

'Sweet dreams!' The marauders all said to Hermione before disappearing up the stairs.

Hermione herself was just brushing off invisible hairs from her dress when she looked towards the staircase just in time to see Sirius wink at her. Hermione blushed a bright red and headed up the girls staircase, trying not to think about the butterflies currently flying around her stomach. 'Get a Grip Hermione,' she thought to herself, 'He is just a boy, a man really… a really attractive man. Oh sweet Merlin.'

In all truth, Hermione had no idea where she was supposed to go. She carried on up the spiralling stairs past four floors, to come to a heavy wooden door with a grand number 5 painted on it in silver paint. With a shrug and a prayer that it was the right room, Hermione tried her best to silently enter, but failed when she tripped over what she soon found out was a very well placed stack of books.

'Bugger,' Hermione exclaimed.

'Who are you?' A voice asked.

Hermione's head whipped up, to see three girls sat up in their beds, staring accusingly at her. In the back of her mind, Hermione noticed an extra bed which she assumed was hers, but she was too busy taking in all of the girl's appearances to care too much. The girl in the bed closest to the door had black hair in a pixie cut. Her face was rounded and very sweet looking. The resemblance to Neville was very striking, and Hermione could only assume that this was his mother, Alice Longbottom, or actually in this time, it would be Black. She looked very kind and was reminded of the friendship Neville had so easily offered her on the Hogwarts express in her first year.

In the bed next to her, was a girl that Hermione recognised only from The Order of the phoenix photographs Sirius had shown her. Marlene McKinnon had brown hair with slight natural blond highlights that fell to about her shoulders, and brown eyes that stared at Hermione with suspicion. She was pretty, but not in a way that would make her the envy of most girls. She looked kind, but cautious. Hermione knew from Sirius' tales that she had a rebellious streak to rival Sirius himself.

Hermione turned her head to the bed opposite Alice, and looked straight into the eyes of her best friend. Hermione blinked in shock and forced herself to look at the person behind the bright green eyes of Harry, even though it was a very hard task. Lily Evans, because of course that was who she was, was very pretty. She had flowing red hair and a very kind face. She looked at Hermione with interest but not with cruelty. Hermione hoped that she would be able to become friends with Lily Evans, as she would love to have that connection to her best friend, which she thought of as a brother.

The assessment of the girls that Hermione had made had only taken a few seconds, but she still had to shake herself before saying, 'Hermione.' In answer to Marlene's question. Hermione cursed herself for sounding like a complete idiot when she said that, but it could not be helped, she was still in shock from seeing two dead people and one that was currently in hospital having been driven insane by Bellatrix Lestrange.

'Yeah I was kind of hoping for a back story, not just a name.' Marlene stated with a smile, not in a mean way, but in a way that left no room for argument. Much the same way Hermione probably would have dealt with a situation like this.

'Errr,' Hermione still couldn't talk, and was inwardly screaming at herself to say something that didn't make her sound like a troll.

'It's ok, we don't bite,' Lily said with humour in her eyes at the girl's complete lack of conversation.

'Right. Ok. Yes. Errrr,' Hermione searched her brain. Cover story. Right, 'My name is Hermione Potter, and I am James Potter's cousin.' Good start. Hermione wasn't entirely sure it was plausible but Dumbledore had told her to make herself a relative of the Potter's to make her staying there more believable. 'I was previously home schooled at my home in Manchester, but my parents were killed by death eaters because they refused to join them, I nearly didn't make it out but I had a portkey around my neck which I managed to activate. I have always been close with my cousin and so went to live with James, Uncle Charlus and Aunt Dorea. They spoke to Dumbledore and now here I am.' Hermione let out a sigh of relief at her, albeit small and not exactly moving story, and tried to look suitably sad for her dead parents, which was actually not that hard as she remembered that she wouldn't ever be seeing her parents again. Suddenly the tears in her eyes didn't seem all that fake at all.

'Oh Hermione I am so sorry!' Alice Black exclaimed sincerely.

Hermione gave the girls, who were all looking at her with a mix of pity and respect, a watery smile. Lily saw that what Hermione really needed was cheering up and so butted in, 'Sorry about her parents or sorry that she has to live with James potter?' The girls all started laughing and even Hermione gave a little chuckle in relief at the change in atmosphere.

'Well congratulations on getting into Gryffindor! I'm Marlene, this here is Alice and that is Lily.' Marlene said with a smile, trying to change the subject, for which Hermione was grateful, 'this is by far the best house. Imagine if you'd gone into Slytherin, I'm pretty sure James would have disowned you.' Hermione grinned, as she knew that that was very true.

'Not all Slytherins are bad Mar,' Lily added.

'I know, I know,' Marlene said to Lily before looking at Hermione, 'Lily here has a very… close relationship with a certain Slytherin. I'm expecting a proposal before the year is out.' At this, Alice started laughing loudly and Lily blushed bright red. Hermione wandered if she knew the Slytherin they were referring to, and was also quite surprised as she assumed that Lily would have been with James by now.

'It's not like that. We're just friends.' Hermione grinned at the red head's obvious discomfort as she walked to her bed. Hermione unpinned her trunk from the charm bracelet around her wrist, thanking her lucky stars that she had all of her belongings with her. That git Malfoy was going to pay, even if Hermione had to wait 50 years to extract revenge. Once Hermione was ready for bed, she crawled under the covers and listened to the banter around her.

'So have you met all of the Marauders?' Alice asked Hermione.

'Erm, I haven't met Peter, but I have met all the others. They're very nice.' Hermione smiled, glad that she had been able to say Peter's name without spitting.

'Really?' Marlene asked in mock surprise, 'We can't have met the same Marauders then.'

Hermione laughed, very much enjoying these girl's sense of humour. Hermione had had time to look around the dorm, and was very happy to note that there weren't magazines strewn about the floor and posters of almost naked men on the walls. Hermione liked Lavender and Pavarti, but she couldn't really connect with them, they had very different personalities. Hermione rather felt like she was watching a nature documentary when she was around her old roommates. She already felt closer to Alice, Marlene and Lily, and going by the amount of books hiding in the room, and their humour, she was happy to assume that they had a lot in common.

'What do you think of the marauders, Lily?' Hermione asked, curious on where Lily and James stood.

'Oh they're alright really, I suppose. Remus and I get on very well, I think because we are both very studious and hard-working we need each other as a break from our friends.' Lily chuckled, 'Marlene gets on well with James and Sirius because they are all quite mischievous.' Marlene grinned and nodded.

'It's true, I can't be tamed.' Marlene winked and did a little fake raw that had all the girls laughing. It wasn't actually that funny, Hermione mused, but they all had a bad case of the giggles. So half an hour later, they were still laughing and chatting. Hermione felt very welcomed and was grateful that they were so open to being friends with her. It definitely hadn't been this easy in her own time.

'Do you have a boyfriend, then, Hermione?' Alice asked, sometime later. The three girls looked at Hermione curiously.

'Erm, no. No-one. There was this boy back home that everyone thought I would end up with, but I just couldn't see it. He was so immature and all we ever did was fight like little children.' Hermione frowned, thinking of Ron. 'I thought of him more as a cousin than anything else.'

'I totally understand, Hermione.' Lily nodded, 'Your bone headed cousin James keeps on asking me out, and he does it in the most arrogant, un-romantic ways and we always just end up yelling at each other. Don't get me wrong, he is a good friend of mine, I just wish he would stop pushing me for more.' Hermione nodded in understanding. She was going to have to have a little chat with her dear 'cousin' James, and see if she could be the catalyst in getting them together.

'I have a boyfriend,' Marlene said suddenly with a grin.

Alice and Lily gasped. 'Who is it? Why haven't you told us sooner!' They both exclaimed.

'He's this guy from home. He's called Josh and he is so amazing! We spent the whole summer together, just hanging out and swimming in the lake.' Marlene said with a dozy expression on her face. Hermione, Alice and Lily all awed. 'He told me he loved me just before I came to Hogwarts. But there's a big problem.' Marlene frowned. 'He's a muggle and if my parents ever found out they'd absolutely kill me!'

Hermione asked confusedly, 'What's wrong with him being a muggle?'

'Absolutely nothing!' Marlene said, 'But my parents are a different story. They're not into blood supremacy like a lot of purebloods, and they were fine when they found out I was in Gryffindor, but they have always been very clear on the fact that I am not allowed to be with non-purebloods.' Marlene looked defiant. 'Of course, it's not going to stop me, but I would love to have their support, you know?'

The girls were all very sympathetic, and they talked for a while more about boys, and classes, and Hermione fell asleep with a smile on her face. She was very nervous about starting classes the next day, but with the marauders and the other girls in her dorm, Hermione knew she wouldn't be facing it alone.

Thankyou for reading! I would really appreciate review. I know this is a bit shorter than the others, but I wanted to establish the relationships Hermione is going to have with her friends and thought it deserved its own chapter


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